Method and system for routing in low density parity check (LDPC) decoders

ABSTRACT

An approach is provided for decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal. Edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal are retrieved from memory. The edge values specify the relationship of bit nodes and check nodes, and are stored within memory according to a predetermined scheme that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values. A decoded signal corresponding to the LDPC coded signal is output based on the retrieved edge values.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to, and claims the benefit of the earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/393,457) filed Jul. 3, 2002, entitled “Code Design and Implementation Improvements for Low Density Parity Check Codes,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/398,760) filed Jul. 26, 2002, entitled “Code Design and Implementation Improvements for Low Density Parity Check Codes,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/403,812) filed Aug. 15, 2002, entitled “Power and Bandwidth Efficient Modulation and Coding Scheme for Direct Broadcast Satellite and Broadcast Satellite Communications,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/421,505), filed Oct. 25, 2002, entitled “Method and System for Generating Low Density Parity Check Codes,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/421,999), filed Oct. 29, 2002, entitled “Satellite Communication System Utilizing Low Density Parity Check Codes,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/423,710), filed Nov. 4, 2002, entitled “Code Design and Implementation Improvements for Low Density Parity Check Codes,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/440,199) filed Jan. 15, 2003, entitled “Novel Solution to Routing Problem in Low Density Parity Check Decoders,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/447,641) filed February 14, 2003, entitled “Low Density Parity Check Code Encoder Design,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Ser. No. 60/456,220) filed Mar. 20, 2003, entitled “Description LDPC and BCH Encoders,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/469,356 filed May 9, 2003, entitled “Description LDPC and BCH Encoders,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/482,112 filed Jun. 24, 2003 entitled “Description LDPC and BCH Encoders,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/482,107 filed Jun. 24, 2003, entitled “Description LDPC and BCH Encoders”; the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communication systems, and more particularly to coded systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems employ coding to ensure reliable communication across noisy communication channels. These communication channels exhibit a fixed capacity that can be expressed in terms of bits per symbol at certain signal to noise ratio (SNR), defining a theoretical upper limit (known as the Shannon limit). As a result, coding design has aimed to achieve rates approaching this Shannon limit. One such class of codes that approach the Shannon limit is Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes.

Traditionally, LDPC codes have not been widely deployed because of a number of drawbacks. One drawback is that the LDPC encoding technique is highly complex. Encoding an LDPC code using its generator matrix would require storing a very large, non-sparse matrix. Additionally, LDPC codes require large blocks to be effective; consequently, even though parity check matrices of LDPC codes are sparse, storing these matrices is problematic.

From an implementation perspective, a number of challenges are confronted. For example, storage is an important reason why LDPC codes have not become widespread in practice. Also, a key challenge in LDPC code implementation has been how to achieve the connection network between several processing engines (nodes) in the decoder. Further, the computational load in the decoding process, specifically the check node operations, poses a problem.

Therefore, there is a need for a LDPC communication system that employs simple encoding and decoding processes. There is also a need for using LDPC codes efficiently to support high data rates, without introducing greater complexity. There is also a need to improve performance of LDPC encoders and decoders. There is also a need to minimize storage requirements for implementing LDPC coding. There is a further need for a scheme that simplifies the communication between processing nodes in the LDPC decoder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other needs are addressed by the present invention, wherein an approach for decoding a structured Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes is provided. Structure of the LDPC codes is provided by restricting portion part of the parity check matrix to be lower triangular and/or satisfying other requirements such that the communication between bit nodes and check nodes of the decoder is simplified. Edge values associated with the structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal are retrieved from memory. The edge values specify the relationship of bit nodes and check nodes, and according to one embodiment of the present invention, are stored within the memory according to a predetermined scheme (e.g., contiguous physical memory locations) that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the edge values having bit nodes of n degrees are stored in a first portion of the memory, and edge values having bit nodes of greater than n degrees are stored in a second portion of the memory. The storage arrangement of the edge values advantageously allows fast retrieval of the edge values during the decoding process.

Also, the approach can advantageously exploit the unequal error protecting capability of LDPC codes on transmitted bits to provide extra error protection to more vulnerable bits of high order modulation constellations (such as 8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying)). The decoding process involves iteratively regenerating signal constellation bit metrics into an LDPC decoder after each decoder iteration or several decoder iterations. The above arrangement provides a computational efficient approach to decoding LDPC codes.

According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a method for decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal is disclosed. The method includes retrieving edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, wherein the edge values specify relationship of bit nodes and check nodes, and are stored according to a predetermined scheme that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values. The method also includes outputting a decoded signal corresponding to the LDPC coded signal based on the retrieved edge values.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a decoder for decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal is disclosed. The decoder includes means for retrieving edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal. The decoder also includes memory for storing the edge values according to a predetermined scheme that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values, wherein the edge values specify relationship of bit nodes and check nodes. Further, the decoder includes means for outputting a decoded signal corresponding to the LDPC coded signal based on the retrieved edge values.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a memory accessible by a low density parity check (LDPC) decoder for decoding a LDPC coded signal is disclosed. The memory includes a first portion storing a first group of edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, the first group of edges being connected to bit nodes of n degrees. Additionally, the memory includes a second portion storing a second group of edge values associated with the structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, the second group of edges being connected to bit nodes of greater than n degrees, wherein a set of edge values from the first group or the second group is retrieved to output a decoded signal.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. The present invention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications system configured to utilize Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary transmitter in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary receiver in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a sparse parity check matrix, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a bipartite graph of an LDPC code of the matrix of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a sub-matrix of a sparse parity check matrix, wherein the sub-matrix contains parity check values restricted to the lower triangular region, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing performance between codes utilizing unrestricted parity check matrix (H matrix) versus restricted H matrix having a sub-matrix as in FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are, respectively, a diagram of a non-Gray 8-PSK modulation scheme, and a Gray 8-PSK modulation, each of which can be used in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing performance between codes utilizing Gray labeling versus non-Gray labeling;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the operation of the LDPC decoder using non-Gray mapping, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the operation of the LDPC decoder of FIG. 3 using Gray mapping, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12A–12C are diagrams of the interactions between the check nodes and the bit nodes in a decoding process, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are flowcharts of processes for computing outgoing messages between the check nodes and the bit nodes using, respectively, a forward-backward approach and a parallel approach, according to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 14A–14C are graphs showing simulation results of LDPC codes generated in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams of the top edge and bottom edge, respectively, of memory organized to support structured access as to realize randomness in LDPC coding, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a computer system that can perform the processes of encoding and decoding of LDPC codes, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A system, method, and software for efficiently decoding structured Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes are described. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications system configured to utilize Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, according to an embodiment of the present invention. A digital communications system 100 includes a transmitter 101 that generates signal waveforms across a communication channel 103 to a receiver 105. In this discrete communications system 100, the transmitter 101 has a message source that produces a discrete set of possible messages; each of the possible messages has a corresponding signal waveform. These signal waveforms are attenuated, or otherwise altered, by communications channel 103. To combat the noise channel 103, LDPC codes are utilized.

The LDPC codes that are generated by the transmitter 101 enables high speed implementation without incurring any performance loss. These structured LDPC codes output from the transmitter 101 avoid assignment of a small number of check nodes to the bit nodes already vulnerable to channel errors by virtue of the modulation scheme (e.g., 8-PSK).

Such LDPC codes have a parallelizable decoding algorithm (unlike turbo codes), which advantageously involves simple operations such as addition, comparison and table look-up. Moreover, carefully designed LDPC codes do not exhibit any sign of error floor.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter 101 generates, using a relatively simple encoding technique, LDPC codes based on parity check matrices (which facilitate efficient memory access during decoding) to communicate with the receiver 105. The transmitter 101 employs LDPC codes that can outperform concatenated turbo+RS (Reed-Solomon) codes, provided the block length is sufficiently large.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary transmitter in the system of FIG. 1. A transmitter 200 is equipped with an LDPC encoder 203 that accepts input from an information source 201 and outputs coded stream of higher redundancy suitable for error correction processing at the receiver 105. The information source 201 generates k signals from a discrete alphabet, X. LDPC codes are specified with parity check matrices. On the other hand, encoding LDPC codes require, in general, specifying the generator matrices. Even though it is possible to obtain generator matrices from parity check matrices using Gaussian elimination, the resulting matrix is no longer sparse and storing a large generator matrix can be complex.

Encoder 203 generates signals from alphabet Y to a modulator 205 using a simple encoding technique that makes use of only the parity check matrix by imposing structure onto the parity check matrix. Specifically, a restriction is placed on the parity check matrix by constraining certain portion of the matrix to be triangular. The construction of such a parity check matrix is described more fully below in FIG. 6. Such a restriction results in negligible performance loss, and therefore, constitutes an attractive trade-off.

Modulator 205 maps the encoded messages from encoder 203 to signal waveforms that are transmitted to a transmit antenna 207, which emits these waveforms over the communication channel 103. Accordingly, the encoded messages are modulated and distributed to a transmit antenna 207. The transmissions from the transmit antenna 207 propagate to a receiver, as discussed below.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary receiver in the system of FIG. 1. At the receiving side, a receiver 300 includes a demodulator 301 that performs demodulation of received signals from transmitter 200. These signals are received at a receive antenna 303 for demodulation. After demodulation, the received signals are forwarded to a decoder 305, which attempts to reconstruct the original source messages by generating messages, X′, in conjunction with a bit metric generator 307. With non-Gray mapping, the bit metric generator 307 exchanges probability information with the decoder 305 back and forth (iteratively) during the decoding process, which is detailed in FIG. 10. Alternatively, if Gray mapping is used (according to one embodiment of the present invention), one pass of the bit metric generator is sufficient, in which further attempts of bit metric generation after each LDPC decoder iteration are likely to yield limited performance improvement; this approach is more fully described with respect to FIG. 11. To appreciate the advantages offered by the present invention, it is instructive to examine how LDPC codes are generated, as discussed in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a sparse parity check matrix, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. LDPC codes are long, linear block codes with sparse parity check matrix H_((n−k)xn). Typically the block length, n, ranges from thousands to tens of thousands of bits. For example, a parity check matrix for an LDPC code of length n=8 and rate ½ is shown in FIG. 4. The same code can be equivalently represented by the bipartite graph, per FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a bipartite graph of an LDPC code of the matrix of FIG. 4. Parity check equations imply that for each check node, the sum (over GF (Galois Field)(2)) of all adjacent bit nodes is equal to zero. As seen in the figure, bit nodes occupy the left side of the graph and are associated with one or more check nodes, according to a predetermined relationship. For example, corresponding to check node m₁, the following expression exists n₁+n₄+n₅+n₈=0 with respect to the bit nodes.

Returning the receiver 303, the LDPC decoder 305 is considered a message passing decoder, whereby the decoder 305 aims to find the values of bit nodes. To accomplish this task, bit nodes and check nodes iteratively communicate with each other. The nature of this communication is described below.

From check nodes to bit nodes, each check node provides to an adjacent bit node an estimate (“opinion”) regarding the value of that bit node based on the information coming from other adjacent bit nodes. For instance, in the above example if the sum of n₄, n₅ and n₈ “looks like” 0 to m₁, then m₁ would indicate to n₁ that the value of n₁ is believed to be 0 (since n₁+n₄+n₅+n₈=0); otherwise m₁ indicate to n₁ that the value of n₁ is believed to be 1. Additionally, for soft decision decoding, a reliability measure is added.

From bit nodes to check nodes, each bit node relays to an adjacent check node an estimate about its own value based on the feedback coming from its other adjacent check nodes. In the above example n₁ has only two adjacent check nodes m₁ and m₃. If the feedback coming from m₃ to n₁ indicates that the value of n₁ is probably 0, then n₁ would notify m₁ that an estimate of n₁'s own value is 0. For the case in which the bit node has more than two adjacent check nodes, the bit node performs a majority vote (soft decision) on the feedback coming from its other adjacent check nodes before reporting that decision to the check node it communicates. The above process is repeated until all bit nodes are considered to be correct (i.e., all parity check equations are satisfied) or until a predetermined maximum number of iterations is reached, whereby a decoding failure is declared.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a sub-matrix of a sparse parity check matrix, wherein the sub-matrix contains parity check values restricted to the lower triangular region, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described previously, the encoder 203 (of FIG. 2) can employ a simple encoding technique by restricting the values of the lower triangular area of the parity check matrix. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the restriction imposed on the parity check matrix is of the form: H _((n−k)xn) =[A _((n−k)xk) B _((n−k)x(n−k))] ,where B is lower triangular.

Any information block i=(i₀, i₁, . . . , i_(k−1)) is encoded to a codeword c=(i₀, i₁, . . . , i_(k−1), p₀, p₁, . . . , p_(n−k−1)) using Hc^(T)=0, and recursively solving for parity bits; for example, a ₀₀ i ₀ +a ₀₁ i ₁ + . . . +a _(0,k−1) i _(k−1) +P ₀=0=>Solve P₀, a ₁₀ i ₀ +a ₁₁ i ₁ + . . . +a _(1,k−1) i _(k−1) +b ₁₀ p ₀ +p ₁=0=>Solve p₁ and similarly for p₂, p₃, . . . ,p_(n−k−1).

FIG. 7 is a graph showing performance between codes utilizing unrestricted parity check matrix (H matrix) versus restricted H matrix of FIG. 6. The graph shows the performance comparison between two LDPC codes: one with a general parity check matrix and the other with a parity check matrix restricted to be lower triangular to simplify encoding. The modulation scheme, for this simulation, is 8-PSK. The performance loss is within 0.1 dB. Therefore, the performance loss is negligible based on the restriction of the lower triangular H matrices, while the gain in simplicity of the encoding technique is significant. Accordingly, any parity check matrix that is equivalent to a lower triangular or upper triangular under row and/or column permutation can be utilized for the same purpose.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are, respectively, a diagram of a non-Gray 8-PSK modulation scheme, and a Gray 8-PSK modulation, each of which can be used in the system of FIG. 1. The non-Gray 8-PSK scheme of FIG. 8A can be utilized in the receiver of FIG. 3 to provide a system that requires very low Frame Erasure Rate (FER). This requirement can also be satisfied by using a Gray 8-PSK scheme, as shown in FIG. 8B, in conjunction with an outer code, such as Bose, Chaudhuri, and Hocquenghem (BCH), Hamming, or Reed-Solomon (RS) code.

Under this scheme, there is no need to iterate between the LDPC decoder 305 (FIG. 3) and the bit metric generator 307, which may employ 8-PSK modulation. In the absence of an outer code, the LDPC decoder 305 using Gray labeling exhibit an earlier error floor, as shown in FIG. 9 below.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing performance between codes utilizing Gray labeling versus non-Gray labeling of FIGS. 8A and 8B. The error floor stems from the fact that assuming correct feedback from LDPC decoder 305, regeneration of 8-PSK bit metrics is more accurate with non-Gray labeling since the two 8-PSK symbols with known two bits are further apart with non-Gray labeling. This can be equivalently seen as operating at higher Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Therefore, even though error asymptotes of the same LDPC code using Gray or non-Gray labeling have the same slope (i.e., parallel to each other), the one with non-Gray labeling passes through lower FER at any SNR.

On the other hand, for systems that do not require very low FER, Gray labeling without any iteration between LDPC decoder 305 and 8-PSK bit metric generator 307 may be more suitable because re-generating 8-PSK bit metrics before every LDPC decoder iteration causes additional complexity. Moreover, when Gray labeling is used, re-generating 8-PSK bit metrics before every LDPC decoder iteration yields only very slight performance improvement. As mentioned previously, Gray labeling without iteration may be used for systems that require very low FER, provided an outer code is implemented.

The choice between Gray labeling and non-Gray labeling depends also on the characteristics of the LDPC code. Typically, the higher bit or check node degrees, the better it is for Gray labeling, because for higher node degrees, the initial feedback from LDPC decoder 305 to 8-PSK (or similar higher order modulation) bit metric generator 307 deteriorates more with non-Gray labeling.

When 8-PSK (or similar higher order) modulation is utilized with a binary decoder, it is recognized that the three (or more) bits of a symbol are not received “equally noisy”. For example with Gray 8-PSK labeling, the third bit of a symbol is considered more noisy to the decoder than the other two bits. Therefore, the LDPC code design does not assign a small number of edges to those bit nodes represented by “more noisy” third bits of 8-PSK symbol so that those bits are not penalized twice.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the operation of the LDPC decoder using non-Gray mapping, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Under this approach, the LDPC decoder and bit metric generator iterate one after the other. In this example, 8-PSK modulation is utilized; however, the same principles apply to other higher modulation schemes as well. Under this scenario, it is assumed that the demodulator 301 outputs a distance vector, d, denoting the distances between received noisy symbol points and 8-PSK -symbol points to the bit metric generator 307, whereby the vector components are as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {d_{i} = {{- \frac{E_{s}}{N_{0}}}\left\{ {\left( {r_{x} - s_{i,x}} \right)^{2} + \left( {r_{y} - s_{i,y}} \right)^{2}} \right\}}} & {{i = 0},1,{\ldots\mspace{14mu} 7.}} \end{matrix}$

The 8-PSK bit metric generator 307 communicates with the LDPC decoder 305 to exchange a priori probability information and a posteriori probability information, which respectively are represented as u, and a. That is, the vectors u and a respectively represent a priori and a posteriori probabilities of log likelihood ratios of coded bits.

The 8-PSK bit metric generator 307 generates the a priori likelihood ratios for each group of three bits as follows. First, extrinsic information on coded bits is obtained: e _(j) =a _(j) −u _(j) j=0,1,2. Next, 8-PSK symbol probabilities, p_(i) i=0,1, . . . ,7, are determined. *y _(j) =−f(0,e _(j)) j=0,1,2 where f(a,b)=max(a,b)+LUT _(f)(a,b) with LUT _(f)(a,b)=ln(1+e ^(−|a−b|)) *x _(j) =y _(j) +e _(j) j=0,1,2 *p ₀ =x ₀ +x ₁ +x ₂ p ₄ =y ₀ +x ₁ +x ₂ p ₁ =x ₀ +x ₁ +y ₂ p ₅ =y ₀ +x ₁ +y ₂ p ₂ =x ₀ +y ₁ +x ₂ p ₆ =y ₀ +y ₁ +x ₂ p ₃ =x ₀ +y ₁ +y ₂ p ₇ =y ₀ +y ₁ +y ₂

Next, the bit metric generator 307 determines a priori log likelihood ratios of the coded bits as input to LDPC decoder 305, as follows: u ₀ =f(d ₀ +p ₀ ,d ₁ +p ₁ ,d ₂ +p ₂ ,d ₃ +p ₃)−f(d ₄ +p ₄ ,d ₅ +p ₅ ,d ₆ +p ₆ ,d ₇ +p ₇)−e ₀ u ₁ =f(d ₀ +p ₀ ,d ₁ +p ₁ ,d ₄ +p ₄ ,d ₅ +p ₅)−f(d ₂ +p ₂ ,d ₃ +p ₃ ,d ₆ +p ₆ ,d ₇ +p ₇)−e ₁ u ₂ =f(d ₀ +p ₀ ,d ₂ +p ₂ ,d ₄ +p ₄ ,d ₆ +p ₆)−f(d ₁ +p ₁ ,d ₃ +p ₃ ,d ₅ +p ₅ ,d ₇ +p ₇)−e ₂

It is noted that the function f(.) with more than two variables can be evaluated recursively; e.g. f(a,b,c) =f(f(a,b),c).

The operation of the LDPC decoder 305 utilizing non-Gray mapping is now described. In step 1001, the LDPC decoder 305 initializes log likelihood ratios of coded bits, v, before the first iteration according to the following (and as shown in FIG. 12A): =v _(n→k) _(i) u _(n) , n=0,1, . . . ,N−1, i=1,2, . . . ,deg(bit node n) Here, v_(n→k) _(i) denotes the message that goes from bit node n to its adjacent check node k_(i), u_(n) denotes the demodulator output for the bit n and N is the codeword size.

In step 1003, a check node, k, is updated, whereby the input v yields the output w. As seen in FIG. 12B, the incoming messages to the check node k from its d_(c) adjacent bit nodes are denoted by v_(n) ₁ _(→k), v_(n) ₂ _(→k), . . . , v_(n) _(dc) _(→k). The goal is to compute the outgoing messages from the check node k back to d_(c) adjacent bit nodes. These messages are denoted by w_(k→n) ₁ , w_(k→n) ₂ , w_(k→n) _(dc) , where w _(k→n) _(i) =g(v _(n) ₁ _(→k) , v _(n) ₂ _(→k) , . . . , v _(n) _(i−1) _(→k) , v _(n) _(i+1) _(→k) , . . . , v _(n) _(dc) _(→k)). The function g( ) is defined as follows: g(a,b)=sign(a)×sign(b)×{min(|a|,|b|)}+LUT _(g)(a,b), where LUT_(g)(a,b)=ln(1+e^(−|a+b|))−ln(1+e^(−|a−b|)) .Similar to function f, function g with more than two variables can be evaluated recursively.

Next, the decoder 305, per step 1205, outputs a posteriori probability information (FIG. 12C), such that:

$a_{n} = {u_{n} + {\sum\limits_{j}\;{w_{k_{j}\rightarrow n}.}}}$

Per step 1007, it is determined whether all the parity check equations are satisfied. If these parity check equations are not satisfied, then the decoder 305, as in step 1009, re-derives 8-PSK bit metrics and channel input u_(n). Next, the bit node is updated, as in step 1011. As shown in FIG. 14C, the incoming messages to the bit node n from its d_(v) adjacent check nodes are denoted by w_(k) ₁ _(→n), w_(k) ₂ _(→n), . . . , w_(k) _(dv) _(→n) The outgoing messages from the bit node n are computed back to d_(v) adjacent check nodes; such messages are denoted by v_(n→k) ₁ , v_(n→k) ₂ , . . . , v_(n→k) _(dv) , and computed as follows:

$v_{n\rightarrow k_{i}} = {u_{n} + {\sum\limits_{j \neq i}w_{k_{j}\rightarrow n}}}$ In step 1013, the decoder 305 outputs the hard decision (in the case that all parity check equations are satisfied):

${\hat{c}}_{n} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {0,} & {a_{n} \geq 0} \\ {1,} & {a_{n} < 0} \end{matrix} \right.$ Stop if Hĉ^(T)=0

The above approach is appropriate when non-Gray labeling is utilized. However, when Gray labeling is implemented, the process of FIG. 11 is executed.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the operation of the LDPC decoder of FIG. 3 using Gray mapping, according to an embodiment of the present invention. When Gray labeling is used, bit metrics are advantageously generated only once before the LDPC decoder, as re-generating bit metrics after every LDPC decoder iteration may yield nominal performance improvement. As with steps 1001 and 1003 of FIG. 10, initialization of the log likelihood ratios of coded bits, v, are performed, and the check node is updated, per steps 1101 and 1103. Next, the bit node n is updated, as in step 1105. Thereafter, the decoder outputs the a posteriori probability information (step 1107). In step 1109, a determination is made whether all of the parity check equations are satisfied; if so, the decoder outputs the hard decision (step 1111). Otherwise, steps 1103–1107 are repeated.

FIG. 13A is a flowchart of process for computing outgoing messages between the check nodes and the bit nodes using a forward-backward approach, according to an embodiment of the present invention. For a check node with d_(c) adjacent edges, the computation of d_(c)(d_(c)−1) and numerous g(.,.) functions are performed. However, the forward-backward approach reduces the complexity of the computation to 3(d_(c)−2), in which d_(c)−1 variables are stored.

Referring to FIG. 12B, the incoming messages to the check node k from d_(c) adjacent bit nodes are denoted by v_(n) ₁ _(→k), v_(n) ₂ _(→k), . . . , v_(n) _(dc) _(→k). It is desired that the outgoing messages are computed from the check node k back to d_(c) adjacent bit nodes; these outgoing messages are denoted by w_(k→n) ₁ , w_(k→n) ₂, . . . , w_(k→n) _(dc) .

Under the forward-backward approach to computing these outgoing messages, forward variables, f₁, f₂, . . . , f_(dc), are defined as follows: f₁=v_(1→k) f ₂ =g(f ₁ , v _(2→k)) f ₃ =g(f ₂ , v _(3→k)) : : : f _(dc) =g(f _(dc−1) , v _(dc→k)) In step 1301, these forward variables are computed, and stored, per step 1303.

Similarly, backward variables, b₁,b₂, . . . , b_(dc), are defined by the following: b_(dc)=v_(dc→k) b _(dc−1) =g(b _(dc) , v _(dc−1→k)) : : : b ₁ =g(b ₂ , v _(1→k)) In step 1305, these backward variables are then computed. Thereafter, the outgoing messages are computed, as in step 1307, based on the stored forward variables and the computed backward variables. The outgoing messages are computed as follows: w _(k→1) =b ₂ w _(k→i) =g(f _(i−1) , b _(i+1)) i=2,3, . . . , d _(c)−1 w _(k→dc) =f _(dc−1)

Under this approach, only the forward variables, g₂, g₃, g_(dc), are required to be stored. As the backward variables b_(i) are computed, the outgoing messages, w_(k→i), are simultaneously computed, thereby negating the need for storage of the backward variables.

The computation load can be further enhance by a parallel approach, as next discussed.

FIG. 13B is a flowchart of process for computing outgoing messages between the check nodes and the bit nodes using a parallel approach, according to an embodiment of the present invention. For a check node k with inputs v_(n) ₁ _(→k), v_(n) ₂ _(→k), . . . , v_(n) _(dc) _(→k) from d_(c) adjacent bit nodes, the following parameter is computed, as in step 1311: γ_(k) =f(v _(n) ₁ _(→k) , v _(n) ₂ _(→k) , . . . , v _(n) _(dc) _(→k)).

It is noted that the g(.,.) function can also be expressed as follows:

${g\left( {a,b} \right)} = {\ln\;{\frac{1 + {\mathbb{e}}^{a + b}}{{\mathbb{e}}^{a} + {\mathbb{e}}^{b}}.}}$

Exploiting the recursive nature of the g(.,.) function, the following expression results:

$\begin{matrix} {\gamma_{k} = {\ln\;\frac{1 + {\mathbb{e}}^{{g{({v_{n_{1}\rightarrow k},\ldots\mspace{14mu},v_{n_{i - 1}\rightarrow k},v_{n_{i + 1}\rightarrow k},\ldots\mspace{14mu},v_{n_{dc}\rightarrow k}})}} + v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k}}}{{\mathbb{e}}^{g{({v_{n_{1}\rightarrow k},\ldots\mspace{14mu},v_{n_{i - 1}\rightarrow k},v_{n_{i + 1}\rightarrow k},\ldots\mspace{14mu},v_{n_{dc}\rightarrow k}})}} + {\mathbb{e}}^{v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k}}}}} \\ {= {\ln\;\frac{1 + {\mathbb{e}}^{w_{k\rightarrow n_{i}} + v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k}}}{{\mathbb{e}}^{w_{k\rightarrow n_{i}}} + {\mathbb{e}}^{v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k}}}}} \end{matrix}$

Accordingly, w_(k→n) _(i) can be solved in the following manner:

$w_{k\rightarrow n_{i}} = {{\ln\;\frac{{\mathbb{e}}^{v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k} + \gamma_{k}} - 1}{{\mathbb{e}}^{v_{n_{i}\rightarrow k} - \gamma_{k}} - 1}} - \gamma_{k}}$

The ln(.) term of the above equation can be obtained using a look-up table LUT_(x) that represents the function ln |e^(x)−1| (step 1313). Unlike the other look-up tables LUT_(f) or LUT_(g), the table LUT_(x) would likely requires as many entries as the number of quantization levels. Once γ_(k) is obtained, the calculation of w_(k→n) _(i) for all n_(i) can occur in parallel using the above equation, per step 1315.

The computational latency of γ_(k) is advantageously log₂(d_(c)).

FIGS. 14A–14C are graphs showing simulation results of LDPC codes generated in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. In particular, FIGS. 14A–14C show the performance of LDPC codes with higher order modulation and code rates of ¾ (QPSK, 1.485 bits/symbol), ⅔ (8-PSK, 1.980 bits/symbol), and ⅚ (8-PSK, 2.474 bits/symbol).

Two general approaches exist to realize the interconnections between check nodes and bit nodes: (1) a fully parallel approach, and (2) a partially parallel approach. In fully parallel architecture, all of the nodes and their interconnections are physically implemented. The advantage of this architecture is speed.

The fully parallel architecture, however, may involve greater complexity in realizing all of the nodes and their connections. Therefore with fully parallel architecture, a smaller block size may be required to reduce the complexity. In that case, for the same clock frequency, a proportional reduction in throughput and some degradation in FER versus Es/No performance may result.

The second approach to implementing LDPC codes is to physically realize only a subset of the total number of the nodes and use only these limited number of “physical” nodes to process all of the “functional” nodes of the code. Even though the LDPC decoder operations can be made extremely simple and can be performed in parallel, the further challenge in the design is how the communication is established between “randomly” distributed bit nodes and check nodes. The decoder 305 (of FIG. 3), according to one embodiment of the present invention, addresses this problem by accessing memory in a structured way, as to realize a seemingly random code. This approach is explained with respect to FIGS. 15A and 15B.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams of the top edge and bottom edge, respectively, of memory organized to support structured access as to realize randomness in LDPC coding, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Structured access can be achieved without compromising the performance of a truly random code by focusing on the generation of the parity check matrix. In general, a parity check matrix can be specified by the connections of the check nodes with the bit nodes. For example, the bit nodes can be divided into groups of a fixed size, which for illustrative purposes is 392. Additionally, assuming the check nodes connected to the first bit node of degree 3, for instance, are numbered as a, b and c, then the check nodes connected to the second bit node are numbered as a+p, b+p and c+p, the check nodes connected to the third bit node are numbered as a+2p, b+2p and c+2p etc.; where p=(number of check nodes)/392. For the next group of 392 bit nodes, the check nodes connected to the first bit node are different from a, b, c so that with a suitable choice of p, all the check nodes have the same degree. A random search is performed over the free constants such that the resulting LDPC code is cycle-4 and cycle-6 free. Because of the structural characteristics of the parity check matrix of the present invention, the edge information can stored to permit concurrent access to a group of relevant edge values during decoding.

In other words, the approach of the present invention facilitates memory access during check node and bit node processing. The values of the edges in the bipartite graph can be stored in a storage medium, such as random access memory (RAM). It is noted that for a truly random LDPC code during check node and bit node processing, the values of the edges would need to be accessed one by one in a random fashion. However, such a conventional access scheme would be too slow for a high data rate application. The RAM of FIGS. 15A and 15B are organized in a manner, whereby a large group of relevant edges can be fetched in one clock cycle; accordingly, these values are placed “together” in memory, according to a predetermined scheme or arrangement. It is observed that, in actuality, even with a truly random code, for a group of check nodes (and respectively bit nodes), the relevant edges can be placed next to one another in RAM, but then the relevant edges adjacent to a group of bit nodes (respectively check nodes) will be randomly scattered in RAM. Therefore, the “togetherness,” under the present invention, stems from the design of the parity check matrices themselves. That is, the check matrix design ensures that the relevant edges for a group of bit nodes and check nodes are simultaneously placed together in RAM.

As seen in FIGS. 15A and 15B, each box contains the value of an edge, which is multiple bits (e.g., 6). Edge RAM, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is divided into two parts: top edge RAM 1501 (FIG. 15A) and bottom edge RAM 1503 (FIG. 15B). Bottom edge RAM contains the edges between bit nodes of degree 2, for example, and check nodes. Top edge RAM contains the edges between bit nodes of degree greater than 2 and check nodes. Therefore, for every check node, 2 adjacent edges are stored in the bottom edge RAM 1503, and the rest of the edges are stored in the top edge RAM 1501. For example, the size of the top edge RAM 1501 and bottom edge RAM 1503 for various code rates are given in Table 1

TABLE 1 ½ ⅔ ¾ ⅚ Top Edge 400 × 392 440 × 392 504 × 392 520 × 392 RAM Bottom 160 × 392 110 × 392  72 × 392  52 × 392 Edge RAM

Based on Table 1, an edge RAM of size 576×392 is sufficient to store the edge metrics for all the code rates of ½, ⅔, ¾, and ⅚.

As noted, under this exemplary scenario, a group of 392 bit nodes and 392 check nodes are selected for processing at a time. For 392 check node processing, q=d_(c)−2 consecutive rows are accessed from the top edge RAM 1501, and 2 consecutive rows from the bottom edge RAM 1503. The value of d_(c) depends on the specific code, for example d_(c)=7 for rate ½, d_(c)=10 for rate ⅔, d_(c)=16 for rate ¾ and d_(c)=22 for rate ⅚ for the above codes. Of course other values of d_(c) for other codes are possible. In this instance, q+2 is the degree of each check node.

For bit node processing, if the group of 392 bit nodes has degree 2, their edges are located in 2 consecutive rows of the bottom edge RAM 1503. If the bit nodes have degree d>2, their edges are located in some d rows of the top edge RAM 1501. The address of these d rows can be stored in non-volatile memory, such as Read-Only Memory (ROM). The edges in one of the rows correspond to the first edges of 392 bit nodes, the edges in another row correspond to the second edges of 392 bit nodes, etc. Moreover for each row, the column index of the edge that belongs to the first bit node in the group of 392 can also be stored in ROM. The edges that correspond to the second, third, etc. bit nodes follow the starting column index in a “wrapped around” fashion. For example, if the j^(th) edge in the row belongs to the first bit node, then the (j+1)st edge belongs to the second bit node, (j+2)nd edge belongs to the third bit node, . . . , and (j−1)st edge belongs to the 392^(th) bit node.

In Tables 2–5, the row index and the starting column index of top edge RAM 1501 are specified for every group of 392 bit nodes of degree 3 or larger, for the respective code rates of ⅔, ⅚, ½, and ¾. Each row in the Tables 2–5 represents a group of 392 bit nodes. The first number denotes the row index and the second number denotes the starting column index. For example in Table 2, the first row completely determines the addresses of adjacent edges for the first group of 392 bit nodes of degree 13. Specifically, the entry 0/0 indicates that the first adjacent edges for all of the 392 bit nodes are stored in row number 0. Moreover in that row, the column indexed 0 carries the information for the first adjacent edge of the first bit node, column indexed 1 carries the information for the first adjacent edge of the second bit node etc., and finally column indexed 391 carries the information for the first adjacent edge of the 392th bit node.

Similarly the entry 433/323 specifies that the second adjacent edges for all of the 392 bit nodes are stored in row number 433. Moreover in that row, the column indexed 323 carries the information for the second adjacent edge of the first bit node, column indexed 324 carries the information for the second adjacent edge of the second bit node etc. The column indexed 322 carries the information for the second adjacent edge of the 392th bit node.

Similarly, other entries in the first row of Table 2 determine the addresses of the remaining adjacent edges for the first group of 392 bit nodes. Likewise, the entries in the second row of Table 2 determine the addresses of the adjacent edges for the second group of 392 bit nodes, etc.

TABLE 2 Row Index/Starting Column Index (Rate 2/3) 0/0 433/323 242/150  91/117 323/112 147/93   35/105 227/232 196/311 292/180  52/244 180/250  20/335 8/0 121/326 178/109 299/157 195/338  99/232 251/107 411/263 364/199  28/218 276/370 108/80   84/130 16/0  281/359  18/112  83/180 115/264 163/149 355/321  11/206 268/100 436/79  252/316 420/280 380/335 24/0  345/122 146/365 107/40  283/363 123/368 379/340  3/156 124/15  220/187 356/127 188/71  156/82  32/0  425/177 234/46  267/219  67/224 171/275 219/306 387/87  372/56  140/31   36/339 116/36  316/288 40/0  417/214 122/188 339/58  235/72  187/26   75/302  19/362 164/285 132/109 148/189 60/65 412/303 48/0   89/312 362/214 43/21 419/219 427/378 395/10  347/167  68/221 260/310 396/54  308/268 388/176 56/0  73/69 434/266 155/277 435/360 363/183  51/165 331/181  12/232 404/193 172/175 324/349 348/98  64/0  177/354  34/172 243/141 139/362 259/151 179/166 307/56  76/367 244/121 100/299 428/12  284/133 72/0  145/264 194/335 131/362 403/326 315/180 275/137 203/86  204/303 4/5 228/360 300/76  92/17 80/0  377/382 394/243  27/109  59/237 371/175 211/358 291/353 340/161 212/94  332/333  44/117 236/200 88/0   65/365 378/142 96/0   57/285 226/108 104/0   97/161 250/133 112/0  129/184 114/44  120/0  337/130  50/178 128/0  401/389 170/258 136/0   25/330  82/372 144/0  321/309 162/170 152/0  185/38  386/128 160/0   49/376  90/331 168/0  265/293 314/166 176/0  297/86 282/193 184/0  217/117  42/210 192/0  201/124 306/86  200/0  313/377 138/97  208/0  193/247 202/163 216/0  209/377 186/212 224/0  233/238 26/22 232/0  329/152 410/271 240/0   9/245 106/170 248/0  409/190  58/289 256/0  113/375 154/44  264/0   33/232 274/268 272/0  153/339 218/145 280/0  289/319 98/4  288/0   41/209 130/23  296/0  385/42  210/267 304/0  17/7  258/227 312/0  169/166 290/330 320/0  241/107  66/111 328/0  137/39  418/182 336/0  249/137 354/218 344/0  161/73   2/79 352/0  105/280 266/282 360/0  257/69  298/51  368/0   81/185 338/118 376/0  369/228 370/202 384/0  225/71   74/136 392/0   1/314 346/289 400/0  353/286 322/166 408/0  305/81  330/301 416/0  273/170 402/282 424/0  393/227  10/312 432/0  361/379 426/364 5/0 350/140 263/166 13/0  102/110  87/335 21/0  174/333 215/219 29/0  422/227  31/273 37/0  406/168 175/11  45/0  254/42  279/201 53/0  230/347  47/291 61/0  214/139 55/92 69/0  358/131 199/344 77/0   86/374 183/298 85/0  118/118 407/25  93/0  318/221 39/66 101/0   54/256  79/202 109/0  374/195 119/162 117/0  238/89  207/243 125/0  366/78  95/96 133/0   46/216 351/9  141/0  326/99  127/87  149/0  134/75  319/102 157/0  158/154 15/65 165/0  286/158 143/362 173/0  190/146 191/205 181/0  62/4  343/262 189/0   94/239 271/38  197/0  198/207 231/297 205/0  22/32 167/205 213/0  246/385 303/246 221/0  390/368 439/220 229/0  334/207 247/262 237/0  398/378  63/211 245/0  150/340 359/100 253/0  294/75  415/189 261/0  222/321 391/78  269/0  166/343 159/105 277/0  126/93  239/166 285/0  110/113 151/373 293/0  302/144 71/18 301/0  262/368 111/193 309/0  414/332 375/389 317/0  142/256 103/242 325/0  278/22   7/154 333/0  342/192 423/330 341/0   14/181 431/16  349/0   38/367 383/16  357/0  270/91  223/195 365/0  182/211 287/313 373/0  310/170 135/230 381/0  78/15 295/220 389/0  430/353 335/91  397/0   30/141 367/216 405/0  382/36  311/98  413/0  206/377 255/372 421/0  438/225 399/148 429/0   70/182 327/105 437/0   6/277 23/94

TABLE 3 Row Index/Starting Column Index (Rate 5/6) 0/0 221/158 442/14  503/323 283/150 104/117 384/112 165/93   45/105 266/232 226/311 347/180  67/244 20/0  101/369 162/326 323/359  23/112 124/180 144/264 205/149 405/321  6/206 306/100 507/79  287/316 40/0  201/285 302/12   63/134 243/68  264/238 344/375 105/259 345/213 246/75   66/148 327/100 167/220 60/0  381/141 422/112 443/125 223/47  204/375 504/214 145/188 385/58  206/72  166/26   87/302  7/362 80/0  461/383 82/80 143/61  463/106 284/196  4/94  85/104 285/235 386/3  426/218 27/38 107/161 100/0   41/310 482/66  343/376 403/166 324/265 404/236 245/230 445/63  186/343 486/88  427/202 267/362 120/0  61/31 502/317 123/25  163/139 424/269 164/309 25/56 505/260 406/279 346/148 367/315 47/382 140/0  421/362 462/206 263/297  83/384 244/287 184/132 225/140 125/14  506/216 106/311 447/87  487/264 160/0  441/191 382/360 423/282 203/2  84/58  64/347 425/249  5/267 466/232  46/275 127/385 187/26  180/0  501/296 222/324  3/73 43/6  364/319 444/204 185/82   65/259 26/90 286/155 307/181 147/366 200/0  301/325 102/119 383/285 103/84  304/121 484/352 365/102 485/107 86/9  366/76  387/229 467/52  220/0  341/331 322/242 483/275 303/293 464/166  44/283 305/232 465/86  126/193 146/184 207/38  407/117 240/0   21/314 362/289 363/211 183/120  24/286 224/166 325/186 265/144 446/81  326/301 227/4  247/199 260/0  161/91  142/78  280/0  241/209  2/119 300/0  141/87  342/147 320/0  281/55  42/46 340/0  261/213 182/145 360/0  181/264 62/88 380/0   1/96 262/184 400/0  361/30  282/126 420/0   81/202 202/206 440/0  481/156 242/263 460/0  401/170  22/126 480/0  321/42  402/21  500/0  121/272 122/337 8/0 289/369 190/223 28/0  369/313 130/127 48/0  189/92  290/241 68/0  509/124 210/56  88/0  489/23  430/101 108/0  309/208 510/162 128/0  349/147 330/242 148/0   29/263 490/54  168/0   69/312 250/377 188/0  249/315 270/116 208/0   49/176 170/58  228/0  109/337 10/55 248/0  469/65  110/187 268/0  209/105 470/362 288/0  229/164 150/80 308/0   9/293 410/374 328/0  329/122 310/152 348/0  149/124 390/382 368/0  389/160 230/92  388/0  169/357 370/368 408/0  449/296  90/377 428/0  269/32   70/212 448/0  409/59  450/257 468/0   89/291  30/234 488/0  429/130 350/95  508/0  129/276 50/38 11/0  292/349 133/372 31/0  492/271 253/248 51/0  192/149 273/378 71/0  352/265 153/37  91/0  332/244 293/199 111/0  152/354 393/243 131/0  312/144 213/184 151/0   92/219 173/11  171/0  392/182 473/325 191/0  232/219 193/30  211/0  372/157 13/63 231/0   12/108 333/359 251/0  112/33  513/88  271/0   72/207 413/9  291/0  272/100  93/357 311/0  432/166 233/272 331/0  412/265 33/210 351/0  132/155 493/50  371/0  512/292 453/214 391/0  172/387  53/114 411/0   32/233 433/177 431/0  252/113 373/52  451/0  212/347 353/90  471/0  52/89  73/198 491/0  452/285 313/233 511/0  472/103 113/84  14/0  55/43  36/361 34/0  355/70  116/287 54/0  115/137 196/57  74/0   95/161 416/206 94/0  295/273 336/209 114/0  255/184 296/287 134/0  435/11  376/38  154/0  155/356  16/379 174/0  135/251 76/10 194/0  235/314 256/293 214/0   75/296 216/326 234/0  275/314 356/116 254/0  455/133 156/165 274/0  375/292 436/283 294/0  515/227 456/337 314/0  315/111 176/155 334/0  175/98  276/334 354/0  335/7  476/87  374/0  415/161 136/15  394/0  395/338 496/98  414/0  495/82  396/269 434/0  195/312 516/187 454/0  475/100  56/356 474/0   15/163 316/195 494/0   35/197  96/145 514/0  215/301 236/381 17/0   18/321 459/4  37/0  398/236 139/8  57/0  338/117 439/84  77/0  438/97  499/93  97/0  298/292  19/215 117/0  218/224 419/275 137/0   98/229 299/27  157/0  378/133 339/232 177/0  118/191 359/271 197/0  478/272 159/386 217/0  498/262 119/219 237/0  418/282 519/297 257/0  238/33  379/339 277/0  258/230 179/350 297/0  158/27   59/188 317/0  518/249 399/229 337/0  278/333 279/330 357/0  138/276 239/49  377/0  178/34  219/304 397/0  458/344 199/181 417/0   58/312 479/158 437/0  358/377 259/364 457/0   78/157 319/380 477/0  318/75  99/57 497/0   38/296 79/26 517/0  198/115  39/342

TABLE 4 Row Index/Starting Column Index (Rate 1/2) 240/0  306/249 387/194  98/132 268/80  219/33   64/252 108/54  245/0  146/169  37/233 183/243 233/207  9/336 54/91 363/391 250/0  196/123 242/31   63/103 118/277 344/177 339/46  173/219 255/0  216/36  287/288 318/43   83/327 34/28 354/114 53/84 260/0  316/69  377/8  323/110 308/250 314/209 214/101 298/134 265/0  256/186 257/166  23/196 68/68 234/41  144/249 333/11  270/0  201/192 32/38 213/255 203/124  84/285 264/12  263/134 275/0   36/100 247/220 388/286 273/339  89/334 154/192 223/148 280/0  396/141 132/112 283/125 163/47   79/375  14/214 138/188 285/0   31/189 82/65  18/303 313/92  299/317 129/18  373/356 290/0  381/332 332/312 258/214 43/21 364/219 274/378 198/10  295/0  121/66  217/124 338/346  48/380 189/155 199/79  278/224 300/0   71/260  22/248 193/240 288/248 284/237 224/268  38/263 305/0   46/232 282/193 293/175 378/349 169/98  184/165 168/31  310/0  156/116 87/62 208/390 113/287  69/354 269/172 343/141 315/0  311/12  192/133 143/43  58/75 124/176 324/24  383/346 320/0   16/118 372/259 368/265 133/59  309/321 289/272 104/80  325/0  336/114  7/90 123/190 228/181 114/324 319/240 244/246 330/0  226/71  112/218 358/348 398/83  179/121 119/366 394/197 335/0   21/383 142/80  158/61  218/106 329/196  4/94  49/104 340/0  221/97   2/252 178/174  13/190 164/166  99/130 204/9  345/0  126/76   67/120  78/183 243/53  134/140 149/197 359/239 350/0   96/221 392/290  28/163 353/297 279/147 294/343 374/314 355/0  176/230 367/63   73/343 393/88 174/202 259/362 249/256 360/0  241/60  202/21  348/66  328/351 139/144  94/258 384/41  365/0   26/374 262/54  303/391 153/132 254/145 209/307  74/126 370/0  91/25 382/139 238/269 128/309 239/56   24/260 369/279 375/0  151/213 317/133 253/161 188/92  399/371 194/116  39/302 380/0  296/140 307/14   93/216 148/311 389/87  334/264 109/335 385/0  286/76  222/17   33/116  8/191 304/360  19/282 379/2  390/0  106/217 212/188 103/68  248/264 29/48  44/174 349/274 395/0  281/269 162/333  3/243  88/320 159/75   59/300 229/136 0/0 346/176 157/302 5/0 171/47  42/1  10/0   86/124 267/2  15/0  321/291 197/8  20/0  236/149 147/50  25/0   1/168 347/191 30/0  386/257 252/12  35/0  301/64  397/176 40/0  341/340 272/97  45/0  101/201 122/134 50/0  136/201  57/343 55/0  131/169 292/299 60/0  166/389 352/216 65/0   76/132 297/33  70/0  211/261 167/45  75/0  161/323  12/150 80/0  116/93  107/105 85/0  246/180 322/244 90/0  261/190 342/297 95/0  366/385 177/103 100/0  391/240  77/328 105/0  266/327 182/182 110/0  181/73  47/322 115/0  191/126  72/135 120/0  251/115 227/161 125/0  276/85 172/213 130/0  371/17  327/236 135/0   66/326  62/109 140/0  141/232 357/107 145/0  271/218 207/370 150/0   56/252 127/20  155/0   61/143  97/305 160/0   11/383 237/214 165/0  376/359 337/112 170/0  186/149 277/321 175/0  206/79   92/316 180/0  291/315 362/135 185/0  51/93 232/326 190/0   6/197 102/103 195/0  331/142 187/122 200/0  361/363  27/368 205/0  326/15  152/187 210/0  111/82   52/214 215/0   41/385 312/150 220/0  356/387 137/254 225/0   81/175 302/84  230/0  351/11   17/303 235/0  231/55  117/265

TABLE 5 Row Index/Starting Column Index (Rate 3/4) 0/0 113/334 100/308 423/175 493/163  32/370 116/20  467/48  243/275 370/284 356/114  77/201  7/214 14/0   29/350  44/366 185/335  3/40 494/155 144/324 383/185 229/96  230/376 188/182 427/304 385/269 28/0  435/215 366/165 101/329  17/221  46/276  74/130 341/4  313/169 314/11  272/267 21/376 273/122 42/0  155/306 240/253 353/325 451/355 312/33  88/27 47/23 327/90  286/87   34/201 483/221 175/39  56/0  197/263 492/185 283/223 367/316  60/241 228/91  145/175 439/3  454/168 202/98  133/214 203/82  70/0  463/384 352/298 269/9  129/294 256/303 214/387  5/316 285/257  90/282  48/376 399/317 329/102 84/0   1/159 170/317 409/245 255/173 270/11  438/179 271/224  89/131 300/144 328/199 343/321 231/338 98/0  211/266 450/256 199/279 171/358 242/192 466/378 187/100 19/70 62/98 384/313  35/382 245/164 112/0  141/386 128/357  87/172 465/64  424/35  354/238 117/300 257/174 146/154 496/182 161/232 91/355 126/0   15/196 296/183 395/218  73/356 452/367 158/342 173/70  131/251 258/268  76/176 455/172 119/109 140/0   57/265 58/45 437/175  59/369 284/357 102/53  103/286  33/318 412/49  160/25  105/120 371/188 154/0  323/272 198/11   31/140 227/330 410/150 298/113  61/249 495/207 244/190 426/233 63/30 189/283 168/0  477/41  408/85  311/63   45/301 326/13  200/292 159/218 481/99   20/171 174/192 217/102 315/178 182/0   43/340 212/289 381/152 115/273 172/111 368/2   75/34 369/291 132/92  482/375 413/195 301/219 196/0  225/338 436/232 479/161 339/50  340/372 396/293 355/218 397/80  468/212 342/375 497/351 259/314 210/0  253/84   30/254 297/89  241/165 382/65  18/60 299/186 425/104 440/255 398/62  441/191 469/14  224/0  449/109 478/333 325/82  143/94  186/39  130/44  453/22  411/329  6/168 118/357 287/119 357/258 238/0  169/152 310/308 213/159 157/365 480/361  4/64 201/245 215/92  104/185 216/189 147/125 49/310 252/0  267/180 380/44 266/0   71/132 184/228 280/0  281/48  268/91  294/0  393/59  254/241 308/0  379/129 86/21 322/0  127/319 114/57  336/0   85/227 282/298 350/0  491/101 324/74  364/0  309/378 226/317 378/0  239/220  2/201 392/0  407/135 156/221 406/0  365/360 394/114 420/0  183/335 422/129 434/0  421/105 464/120 448/0  295/245 142/160 462/0  351/37  338/29  476/0  337/16   72/305 490/0   99/220  16/347 8/0  23/384 346/305 22/0  415/118 444/373 36/0  65/28  24/211 50/0  261/130  80/113 64/0  275/316 220/366 78/0  205/109 206/255 92/0   51/110 38/74 106/0  373/262 304/363 120/0  345/250 472/134 134/0   37/173 388/301 148/0  359/272 430/234 162/0  429/71  150/189 176/0   93/332  94/299 190/0  163/385 416/307 204/0  289/144 164/50  218/0  457/140 290/145 232/0  79/42 360/26  246/0  387/59  262/196 260/0  233/93  66/21 274/0  303/116 136/28  288/0  121/176 276/279 302/0  485/235 332/69  316/0  443/336 178/353 330/0  499/298 458/45  344/0  191/240 234/244 358/0   9/13 248/94  372/0  219/36  402/112 386/0  331/192 52/58 400/0  471/294 500/144 414/0  317/186 318/150 428/0  107/69  108/346 442/0  149/139 486/346 456/0  135/170 192/65  470/0  401/2   10/281 484/0  177/326 374/2  498/0  247/143 122/242 11/0  474/49  433/281 25/0  292/134 335/294 39/0  404/29  265/296 53/0  320/345 111/194 67/0  208/221  13/84 81/0  264/133 419/95  95/0   54/157 83/51 109/0  166/363 195/303 123/0  194/389 377/15  137/0  460/36  447/169 151/0  306/23  279/311 165/0   40/133 153/233 179/0  236/53   27/257 193/0  446/121 293/259 207/0  250/350 167/310 221/0   68/104 209/119 235/0  334/224 251/323 249/0  432/83  503/117 263/0  180/192 125/201 277/0  362/183 391/267 291/0  110/347 405/288 305/0  222/22  223/10  319/0  502/80  489/249 333/0   12/100 139/370 347/0  390/229 321/44  361/0  376/295 97/70 375/0  124/166  69/108 389/0  418/73  349/223 403/0   96/321 237/242 417/0  26/23 181/237 431/0  82/7   55/264 445/0  348/347 461/381 459/0  138/244  41/239 473/0  488/356 475/320 487/0  278/80  307/248 501/0  152/153 363/334

With the organization shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, speed of memory access is greatly enhanced during LDPC coding.

FIG. 16 illustrates a computer system upon which an embodiment according to the present invention can be implemented. The computer system 1600 includes a bus 1601 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor 1603 coupled to the bus 1601 for processing information. The computer system 1600 also includes main memory 1605, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus 1601 for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processor 1603. Main memory 1605 can also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by the processor 1603. The computer system 1600 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 1607 or other static storage device coupled to the bus 1601 for storing static information and instructions for the processor 1603. A storage device 1609, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is additionally coupled to the bus 1601 for storing information and instructions.

The computer system 1600 may be coupled via the bus 1601 to a display 1611, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display, active matrix display, or plasma display, for displaying information to a computer user. An input device 1613, such as a keyboard including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to the bus 1601 for communicating information and command selections to the processor 1603. Another type of user input device is cursor control 1615, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor 1603 and for controlling cursor movement on the display 1611.

According to one embodiment of the invention, generation of LDPC codes is provided by the computer system 1600 in response to the processor 1603 executing an arrangement of instructions contained in main memory 1605. Such instructions can be read into main memory 1605 from another computer-readable medium, such as the storage device 1609. Execution of the arrangement of instructions contained in main memory 1605 causes the processor 1603 to perform the process steps described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the instructions contained in main memory 1605. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the embodiment of the present invention. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The computer system 1600 also includes a communication interface 1617 coupled to bus 1601. The communication interface 1617 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 1619 connected to a local network 1621. For example, the communication interface 1617 may be a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, a cable modem, or a telephone modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communication interface 1617 may be a local area network (LAN) card (e.g. for Ethernet™ or an Asynchronous Transfer Model (ATM) network) to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links can also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 1617 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. Further, the communication interface 1617 can include peripheral interface devices, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) interface, etc.

The network link 1619 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link 1619 may provide a connection through local network 1621 to a host computer 1623, which has connectivity to a network 1625 (e.g. a wide area network (WAN) or the global packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet”) or to data equipment operated by service provider. The local network 1621 and network 1625 both use electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals to convey information and instructions. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 1619 and through communication interface 1617, which communicate digital data with computer system 1600, are exemplary forms of carrier waves bearing the information and instructions.

The computer system 1600 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 1619, and communication interface 1617. In the Internet example, a server (not shown) might transmit requested code belonging to an application program for implementing an embodiment of the present invention through the network 1625, local network 1621 and communication interface 1617. The processor 1603 may execute the transmitted code while being received and/or store the code in storage device 169, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, computer system 1600 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor 1603 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 1609. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory 1605. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 1601. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic, optical, or electromagnetic waves, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes or other optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in providing instructions to a processor for execution. For example, the instructions for carrying out at least part of the present invention may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. In such a scenario, the remote computer loads the instructions into main memory and sends the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem of a local computer system receives the data on the telephone line and uses an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal and transmit the infrared signal to a portable computing device, such as a personal digital assistance (PDA) and a laptop. An infrared detector on the portable computing device receives the information and instructions borne by the infrared signal and places the data on a bus. The bus conveys the data to main memory, from which a processor retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory may optionally be stored on storage device either before or after execution by processor.

Accordingly, the various embodiments of the present invention provide an approach for generating structured Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, as to simplify the encoder and decoder. Structure of the LDPC codes is provided by restricting the parity check matrix to be lower triangular. Also, the approach can advantageously exploit the unequal error protecting capability of LDPC codes on transmitted bits to provide extra error protection to more vulnerable bits of high order modulation constellations (such as 8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying)). The decoding process involves iteratively regenerating signal constellation bit metrics into an LDPC decoder after each decoder iteration or several decoder iterations. The above approach advantageously yields reduced complexity without sacrificing performance.

While the present invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments and implementations, the present invention is not so limited but covers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, which fall within the purview of the appended claims. 

1. A method for decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal, the method comprising: retrieving edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, wherein the edge values specify relationship of bit nodes and check nodes, and are stored according to a predetermined scheme that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values, the predetermined scheme specifies contiguous physical memory locations for the set of edge values; and outputting a decoded signal corresponding to the LDPC coded signal based on the retrieved edge values; wherein the set of edge values is retrieved in a single clock cycle of a processor coupled to the memory, and is adjacent to a group of M bit nodes or M check nodes, where M is the number of parallel processing engines.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the memory is partitioned according to degrees of the bit nodes.
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein edge values having bit nodes of n degrees are stored in a first portion of the memory, and edge values having bit nodes of greater than n degrees are stored in a second portion of the memory, n being an integer.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein addresses of the memory is stored in a Read-Only memory.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the contiguous placement of edges imposes restrictions on the parity check matrix.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the LDPC coded signal is modulated according to a signal constellation that includes one of 8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying), 16-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 16-APSK (Amplitude Phase Shift Keying), 32-APSK and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying).
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of edge values in the retrieving step is of a fixed size.
 8. A computer-readable medium bearing instructions decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal, said Instruction, being arranged, upon execution, to cause one or more processors to perform the method at claim
 1. 9. A decoder for decoding a low density parity check (LDPC) coded signal comprising: means for retrieving edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal; memory for storing the edge values according to a predetermined scheme that permits concurrent retrieval of a set of the edge values, wherein the edge values specify relationship of bit nodes and check nodes, the predetermined scheme specifies contiguous physical memory locations for the set of edge values; and means for outputting a decoded signal corresponding to the LDPC coded signal based on the retrieved edge values; a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the set of edge values is retrieved in a single clock cycle of the processor and is adjacent to a group of M bit nodes or M check nodes, where M is the number of parallel processing engines.
 10. A decoder according to claim 9, wherein the memory is partitioned according to degrees of the bit nodes.
 11. A decoder according to claim 9, wherein edge values connected to bit nodes of n degrees are stored in a first portion of the memory, and edge values connected to bit nodes of greater than n degrees are stored in a second portion of the memory.
 12. A decoder according to claim 9, wherein the structured parity check matrix imposes restrictions on a sub-matrix of the parity check matrix.
 13. A decoder according to claim 9, wherein the LDPC coded signal is modulated according to a signal constellation that includes one of 8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying), 16-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 16-APSK (Amplitude Phase Shift Keying), 32-APSK and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying).
 14. A decoder according to claim 9, further comprising: a Read-Only memory for storing addresses of the memory.
 15. A memory accessible by a low density parity check (LDPC) decoder for decoding a LDPC coded signal, comprising: a first portion storing a first group of edge values associated with a structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, the first group of edges being connected to bit nodes of n degrees; a second portion storing a second group of edge values associated with the structured parity check matrix used to generate the LDPC coded signal, the second group of edges being connected to bit nodes of greater than n degrees, wherein a set of edge values from the first group or the second group is retrieved to output a decoded signal; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the set of edge values is retrieved in a single clock cycle of the processor and is adjacent to a group of M bit nodes or M check nodes, where M is the number of parallel processing engines.
 16. A memory according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined scheme specifies contiguous physical memory locations.
 17. A memory according to claim 16, wherein the contiguous placement of edges imposes restrictions on the parity check matrix.
 18. A memory according to claim 15, wherein the LDPC coded signal is modulated according to a signal constellation that includes one of 8-PSK (Phase Shift Keying), 16-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 16-APSK (Amplitude Phase Shift Keying), 32-APSK and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying). 